


The Doctor, The Detective & A Behaviorist: The Vignettes

by MizUndahStood



Series: The Doctor, The Detective, & A Behaviorist [2]
Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: 221B Baker Street, Cooking, Dancing, Friendship, Gen, In Character - Out of Canon, Male-Female Friendship, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, PTSD Sherlock, Psychology, Sherlock Holmes and Feelings, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-17
Updated: 2015-03-07
Packaged: 2018-03-13 11:19:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3379595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MizUndahStood/pseuds/MizUndahStood
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Slice of life musings with Sherlock Holmes, John Watson and Dr Anna Eberhardt(Dance Me Into Love)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nighty-Nite: A Sherlock & Anna Vignette

**Author's Note:**

> You can find Anna's Backstory here:
> 
> “Dance Me Into Love"  
> http://bit.do/DanceMeIntoLove

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John is working an overnight at St. Bart's. Sherlock is between cases, slightly bored, and can't sleep. Luckily Anna has just the thing to help.

Anna awakens in the middle of the night to find Sherlock sitting on the end of her bed. She crushes the sleep from her eyes with the heels of her hands and reaches for the lamp on her bedside table.

"Please don't... I just want to sit here in the dark." Sherlock sighs.

Anna lifts the bandana covering her clock, and squints. "Sherlock! It's half past four. What's going on?"

"Couldn't sleep. Thought you might be awake, too. Sorry..."  
"C'mere you... You're worse than my niece, Marley." she chuckles.

Anna opens the door of her bedside table to reveal a well stocked mini fridge. The contents vary from nail lacquer, perfumes, lotions and carrier oils to tetra paks of milk, and a couple 187ml bottles of her fave bubbly. She asks the sleepless detective "Plant or animal?"  
"Animal"  
"Pink, beige, white, or brown?"  
"Beige! Do you have any biscuits?"  
"Of course. One or two?"  
"One, please" Though Anna can't see it, Sherlock is smiling broadly.  
"Slippers off. C'mon then..." She lifts the covers and pats the mattress next to her. Before settling in, Sherlock fluffs a stack of pillows and reaches into the drawer of her bedside table to find his favorite bedtime story.

"Where's John?"  
"Filling in on the overnight at Bart's. He forbade me to send another text before daybreak. So, I came down and let myself in. I really was expecting to find you awake. You were sleeping so soundly that I didn't want to wake you."

Anna finds her book light, and trades Sherlock the treats in her hands for his book of choice. She looks at the title and laughs out loud.

  
[](http://s1375.photobucket.com/user/Miz_UndahStood/media/A8910B10-D2FF-4AE5-9344-D09EC2C68098_zpsejtd1phi.jpg.html)

"This one, again?" she chuckles.  
"I find great enjoyment in the incongruous mix of your soothing timbre, the profane frustration of the text, and your cloyingly sweet self mocking delivery. Besides, Anna... you have yet to make it through an entire reading without giggles."

Sherlock rests himself on an elbow, pokes a straw into his milk and slurps loudly. As he nibbles on the biscuit, Anna prepares herself to begin the story:

_“The cats nestle close to their kittens now."_  
_“The lambs have laid down with the sheep.”_  
_“You’re cozy and warm in your bed, my dear.”_

"Actually, you're in _my_ bed, you git. But I still wish you would..."

They recite the next line in unison -

**“Please... go. the. f**k. to. sleep.” ******

Sherlock's deep rumbly laugh encourages Anna's giggles. She ruffles his hair as she continues, stopping several times to add commentary, or to still her own giggles. As she nears the end of the story she notices him drifting off.

"I'll read you one more page, you silly goose" she yawns.

_“Bleary and dazed I awaken_  
_To find your eyes shut”_  
“So I keep my fingers crossed tight as I tiptoe away... ” __

She's worked her magic on the detective once again. He's sprawled across her bed, nearly soundly asleep before the end of the story. Anna gently removes the empty milk container from his hand, and sets it on the bedside table.

"Budge up, sleepy head" she chides, with a yawn.  
"Mmm-kay. G'night Anna."  
"Nighty-nite, Sherlock..."

Anna grabs two pillows, and stretches out on the opposite end of the bed. The two sleep on their sides, head to foot in their usual Yin Yang position.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Go The F**k To Sleep" PDF:  
> http://tiny.cc/yuozrx
> 
> Find the Wiki here:  
> http://goo.gl/UyCM5
> 
>  
> 
> One of my fave songs inspired this chapter:
> 
> U2 - Bad: Live Aid 1985 (Best Quality)  
> http://youtu.be/2zIW8qDPhos


	2. Je suis Baga: A John & Anna Vignette

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna and John sit together on the couch in the sitting room of 221B leafing through paperwork, and debriefing each other after having completed a shift for Doctor's Against Torture.  
> The behaviorist struggles with the aftermath of cruelties recounted to her. She feels drained, and her confidence is waning.
> 
> John tries to soothe her, and offers a few words of encouragement.

"John, my brain aches. That last girl, Chiku...I can't get her out of my mind. To sit and try to play patty-cake while coaxing her into sharing her story broke my heart. What's next for her? She has no real idea what is happening to her does she?"

Anna sits with John on the couch in the sitting room of 221B. The two have completed a shift for Doctor's Against Torture, and the behaviorist struggles with the aftermath of cruelties beyond her imagining. John tries to soothe her, and offers a few words of encouragement.

"Many of the children who survived this massacre are too young to fully comprehend their circumstances, Anna. Good job she had family here willing to take her on. Most aren't that fortunate. You've done well today. I think this work suits you. It's not easy, but you knew that - and you've decided to throw in your lot with me anyway." 

"I understand your speech from the banquet much better today than I did that night. I've only done this a few times, but I feel drained. These interviews are truly overwhelming."

"Well, I'd be more worried if you had no feelings at all." John chuckles lightly, and smoothes a hand up and down Anna's back. 

  
[](http://s1375.photobucket.com/user/Miz_UndahStood/media/fanfic%20illustrations/1CE26458-0C3C-454C-AECE-1422F1CA9967_zpsexgi23z0.jpg.html)

"You'll be fine. D'ya wanna know why I'm so sure?" asks John.  
"Yeah. Please clue me in, 'cuz I feel useless right now." Anna shrugs.  
"You're not whinging about the great injustices of the universe or holding your knees, rocking and babbling. You're talking it out with me." 

The warmth of John's voice reassures Anna. She'd worried that she was whining but John's perspective encouraged her to see her feelings in a new light. She screws her eyes shut and rolls her neck, trying valiantly to loosen up and relax. 

"C'mon then..." John turns Anna away from him, and masages her shoulders. With just the right amount of pressure, he squeezes and releases her shoulders several times.  
"Mmm... Thanks, John." she purrs.  
"But wait!" He whispers in her ear. "There's more..." John presses the pads of his thumbs into the top of Anna's neck just below her head, and draws them slowly toward her shoulders.  
"Ohhh! That's nice... Could you just... Yeah. Right there..." Anna nearly melts as John sweeps his thumbs over her shoulders as if on a recon mission. His fingers and thumbs seeking out and removing every knot in their path. 

"How do you feel? Better?" John asks, radiating confidence and charm.  
"That was... Amazing!"  
"So, you're gonna stick with me and continue our work?"  
"Yes, John. This is too important to ignore."  
"Wanna see more?"  
"If you promise keep up the pep talks and shoulder rubs? - yes. Oh god, YES!" 

Anna leans into John and sighs. He buries his nose in her hair, breathes in her scent and hums.

 _Oh god, I'd have you right here on this sofa. Twice if I could._

"Only twice, John?"  
"I... erm... Sorry, how'd you know what I was thinking just then, Anna?"

"Because you said it out loud. Cheeky bugger..."  



	3. At The Broken Places

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sherlock is experiencing night terrors. Again. John and Anna rally to reclaim him from his nightmares.

"Anna, can you come upstairs? It's Sherlock." John's voice is full of concern, and sheer exhaustion.  
"Is it?..."  
"Yes, the night terrors again. You've done wonders with him before. Stubborn git, he's too ashamed to let me help him with this."  
"Pot... Meet kettle."  
"Point taken, Anna."  
While talking to John, Anna sits up, swings her feet out of bed and gropes around in the dark with her feet for her slippers. Finding them, she stuffs them on and almost simultaneously switches from handset to earpiece as she continues her conversation with John. 

"On my way up now. Sitting room, or bedroom?"  
"He's rolled himself into a ball, on the sofa."  
"So, he's not quite asleep, but not fully awake. Okay. Is he coherent? Does he have a sense of his surroundings?"  
"I'm not sure, Anna. You'll need to fully suss that out for yourself. I think he's aware of our voices, but may not know he's not awake. He was calling out in his sleep and I heard him from my desk in the sitting room. By the time I got to his bedroom door, he was pacing and muttering. I could tell he wasn't awake, but he put on his dressing gown, stomped down the hall and wound up on the sofa."  
"Gotcha. John?"  
"Mmm?..."  
"Will you make a carafe of coffee for me? The Baker Street blend? It's in your freezer next to some earlobes last I saw it."  
"Yes, of course. Usual mug, then?"  
"Nope!" She pops her lips. "Break out the heavy armaments."  
"The Nikon lens it is. Good call..."

Anna stops to concoct an appropriate fragrance, hoping to use Sherlock's sense memory to lull him back to himself. She fills an atomizer a with a comforting combination of fragrances: Condensed Milk, Graham Crackers, and Bananas Flambé - roughly replicating the smell of banofee pie. When she arrives at the landing of the sitting room, the smell of coffee is wafting through the flat. She takes a deep breath, and steps through the doorway. Sherlock is on the sofa, curled as tight as his rangy limbs will allow. 

John sees Anna and crosses the room with her mug. She politely waves him off, deciding to approach the nearly apparitional detective first. 

"Sherlock?" She softly inquires. "Sherlock, it's Anna. I'm going to come over and sit on the arm of the sofa now. Would that be okay?"

He stirs briefly. Anna sits down slowly, taking great care not to jar him from his sleep. Once she's comfortably perched, she reaches over to cautiously smooth a hand down Sherlock's back. He stirs and lifts his head.

"Sherlock?" Anna places a hand on his shoulder.  
"Anna? I... Smell. You." he rumbles, almost menacingly.

"Whoa. Yeah, like that wasn't creepy at all." she shudders.  
"Says the woman wearing brown Hobbit feet slippers" John winks.  
Anna chuckles, but turns her attention back to Sherlock.

"Sherlock, if you can hear me, please take my hand." Sherlock reaches up and covers Anna's hand with his. "Good. We're going to do our guided meditation. Do you remember it?" He squeezes her hand. "Okay. Inhale through your nose, and out through your mouth. Very slowly. Fill your diaphragm on the inhalation, and tighten your abs when we exhale." The detective follows the sound of Anna's smooth earthy mezzo, completing each instruction flawlessly. "Keep your eyes closed and imagine our spirit animal. Do you see them together?" Once again he squeezes her hand.

  
[](http://s1375.photobucket.com/user/Miz_UndahStood/media/2015%20-%20Jan/DABEEF54-1E72-4E28-868B-04CB632E9F43_zpsrx9grwlt.jpg.html)

"I'm here for you, Sherlock. Just imagine our otters floating peacefully along, hand in hand. They're there for each other. Side by side, Sherlock. They're safe, and calm, and happy. Just like the otters, you're safe too, Sherlock. You're home, here on Baker Street. Feel your breathing become smooth, even, and calm as we take one more cleansing breath." He breathes in slowly and exhales. "When you're ready, open your eyes, Sherlock."

He rolls over onto his back and grazes his fingertips lightly over the back of her hand. When he looks up at her, she smiles and rakes her fingers through his hair. Anna breathes a sigh of relief.

"You are quite aware that the otter imagery while appropriate, is incomplete in this instance, Anna?" He states, full of his typical unfiltered obstinance.

Anna looks down at Sherlock and shakes her head. "John? He's fine."  
"Sherlock! I begged Anna to come up here in the dead of night to help you. This is the thanks she gets?" John admonishes. "No, no. It's fine, John. His analytical brain is functioning, let's go with it." As a doctor, Anna's explanation makes sense to John. And frankly, he's too knackered to disagree.

"As usual, you see but you do not observe, JAWN! If the guided image is meant to evoke safety, calm, and teamwork, Anna has fallen short in its usage today"

Anna raises an eyebrow at Sherlock, but instead of joining the battle, quietly requests a clarification. "And why would you say that, Sherlock?"  
"Because we've not included _John._ Our raft of otters was... is incomplete without him." Sherlock reaches out his hand toward John, who crosses the room to accept it. John kisses Anna's forehead, and mouths the words "Thank-you". He gives Sherlock's hand a gentle pat.

Assured in the feeling that Sherlock is feeling more himself, John briefly returns to the kitchen. He pours the cold coffee out of Anna's mug and refills it with just how she likes it - Straight from the warmer, with Demerara sugar, no milk. He smiles to himself and cheerfully hums as he carries the freshly filled hot mug, and proudly presents it to the behaviorist. 

"You've definitely earned this. Kept it hot for you." John offers the beverage, and it is accepted with a gracious smile.  
"Mmm... This is _sooo_ good. Thank you John." Anna purrs, thoroughly enjoying the flavor and warmth of her coffee. The apples of her cheeks brightening as she sips.

"OH! For goodness sake... Get a room, you two!" Sherlock huffs. John scrubs a hand across the top of his head, tilts his chin and smiles somewhat impishly. Anna quirks a slight grin and chortles.

After observing the look that passes between the doctors, Sherlock reconsiders his snarky remark. "Erm... On second thought, _maybe not_?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title borrowed from:  
> “If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them. The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.” 
> 
> ~ Ernest Hemingway's “A Farewell to Arms”
> 
>  
> 
> Why do otters hold hands?:  
> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/10943201/Adorable-sea-otters-hold-hands-while-napping.html
> 
> Otter as Spirit Animal:  
> http://spirit-animals.com/otter/  
> [](http://s1375.photobucket.com/user/Miz_UndahStood/media/2015%20-%20March/21786C20-728C-4348-8CA2-A855942D017F_zps602uyebs.jpg.html)  
> 
> 
>  
> 
> Anna's fragrances? They're a thing:  
> [](http://s1375.photobucket.com/user/Miz_UndahStood/media/039A828A-4761-4597-BF0F-27AAEF71FD98_zpszuyqhaeo.jpg.html)
> 
> Nikon lens mug? It's a thing too...  
> [](http://s1375.photobucket.com/user/Miz_UndahStood/media/2016%20-%20November/5A327CB3-565D-4C13-92DE-95FAE81C5B6F_zpsmo82rqiq.jpeg.html)
> 
> Not Beta'd. Mistakes are all mine. ƸӜƷ

**Author's Note:**

> With the help of her boss Cal Lightman, and his erstwhile frenemy Mycroft Holmes, Dr. Andromeda “Anna” Eberhardt PhD wrangles a Post-Doc fellowship at University College London  
> Her skill set reading micro-expressions and gestural affects are well respected, and her quirky thesis on smell and sense memory has the attention of Mycroft. Her Post-Doc work in behavioral psychology is somewhat mundane, but compliments the needs of the world's only Consulting Detective - her unofficially official fellowship.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Dr Anna Eberhardt's Backstory: “Dance Me Into Love”  
> http://archiveofourown.org/series/153830


End file.
